If I took a poll of my readers, my friends, and my family what percent of them do you think would call themselves “morning people?” My guess: about 15%. It’s becoming a rarity these days to find those who wake up easily in the mornings, love to arise with the sun and get moving in preparation for the day ahead (love you 5:30 am clients)! Those figures are just adults! Sure, when your kids are young, you dread the days that they wake you up early. Now it’s a struggle to get them out of bed for school or make them leave the comfort of their beds before noon on weekends. I have a trick for you, though. One word: BREAKFAST. Everyone may know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but that unfortunately does not mean that everyone takes the time to sit down to a solid meal before jetting off to work or school. According to the NPD Group, approximately 31 MILLION Americans skip breakfast. The same survey also found that many males ages 18-34 as well as teenagers (as opposed to younger children) do not eat breakfast. Women ages 55 and older were the most likely to eat a morning meal. What were the common reasons for skipping?

- People weren’t hungry

- Didn’t feel like eating

- Too busy or running late

Despite whether you are hungry or not, busy or not, you NEED to make time for eating breakfast. Breakfast consumption can increase the feeling of fullness, and high-protein breakfasts can help regulate appetite throughout the day. It is also good for your overall mood, metabolism, and overall health! So kick start your day with some recipes below! These are simple to prepare day of, or, if you still think you will be rushed in the morning, these can easily be prepared the night or weekend before!

Don’t stop, however, at simply eating breakfast. The morning meal is the perfect opportunity to insert some family time and inspiration into your day. A wonderful tradition to start with your kids is to do a simple devotional or bible verse memorization first thing in the morning. It not only gets your kids’ minds jump-started, but it also has them (and YOU) putting your mind and focus on important things first thing in the morning. You can even stick those bible verses or quotes into you little ones’ lunchboxes!

We love these basic verses to start the day:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:16)

Encourage one another daily. (Hebrews 3:13)

Get your day off to a great start with a solid breakfast, a daily verse or devotional, and a little kitchen activity!

Favorite Waffle Mix

A breakfast favorite for all the Ward family! You can keep the batter covered, in the fridge for up to a week. We like to double the recipe make a tons of waffles on Sunday and refrigerate half and freeze half for busy school mornings!

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/3 cup Vegetable Oil or Coconut oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 Teaspoon+ ground cinnamon

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 2/3 cups milk ( I use 2%)

2 Eggs

Cooking spray

Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, flax, milk, vegetable oil, honey, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth. If mix is too thick add a tablespoon of water at a time till mix is the right consistency!

• Keep the waffles warm on a baking sheet in a single layer in a 200° oven.

• Waffles freeze well. Cool them to room temperature; freeze in a single layer on a baking sheet. Store in a freezer-safe zip-top plastic bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, place frozen waffles on a baking sheet in a 350° oven for 10 minutes or microwave 1 minute. You can also heat sturdier waffles in a toaster oven.

• Let the waffle iron cool completely before you clean it. To do so, wipe it with a damp paper towel to pick up any remaining crumbs―no soap is needed.

Preheat the oven to 350°F , and place a rack in the center. Put liners in muffin cups. Combine flour, protein powder, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, and salt until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Stir together cinnamon and rolled oats in a small cup. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full).

Then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-oats mixture.

Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.